Garland’s National Guard Armory Demolished
November 1, 2017…The old National Guard Armory, located on several acres in Garland’s Central Park, has been vacant and rusting away for the past 7 years. The property will now be returned to park land available for public use.
The City of Garland’s Parks & Recreation Department considered using the old armory for offices and equipment storage, but the cost, somewhere around $7 Million, would have been prohibitive. There appeared to be no financially feasible re purposing of the armory, which was built during the Cold War in the late 1940’s.
Following their in-depth study and cost analysis, City Staff placed the matter in the hands of the City Council for their decision. On October 17, after lengthy discussion and controversy, the City Council voted 6 to 3 in favor of demolition. At that same Council meeting, shortly after the results of the vote to demolish were announced, Mayor Douglas Athas announced that he would be resigning as mayor, and an exact date would be given “sometime in the near future”.
With a 2004 bond election, Garland citizens were promised a dog park and a skate park. Now, 13 years later, those two recreational facilities may finally materialize. Again, there is controversy, but both the dog park and the skate park may well appear sometime in the future on the land that will have been vacated by the old National Guard Armory.
The October 17th City Council Meeting can be viewed on the City of Garland website.
Nancy Ghirla
Email: [email protected]
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